I had no idea what to expect from Betrayal at Club Low and was quickly delighted by the freaky world and engaging ‘battle’ system. If you’re looking for a familiar photo realistic night out, catch the next pair of rocket shoes out of here. This is way more fun than that.
As a member of whatever the hell you are, you must rescue a fellow operative who is being held at Club Low by Big Mo, using the cover of a pizza delivery guy.
Success hinges on persuading, evading or deceiving numerous people. Typically starting a conversation with someone and rolling dice to see who comes out on top. Your dice represent seven traits (Wisdom, Wit, Physique, Music, Observation, Cooking and Deception) that are also affected by your emotional state from previous encounters, and can be upgraded by money you receive from progress and your pizza dice that can be edited at nearby ovens. If at any point you’re concerned about this not making sense, you’re thinking too much. Just play.
Betrayal at Club Low has a visual style that is just off enough to be surreal and yet comfortable, presenting lots of information with ease and flair. Simple exaggerated character poses are used to great effect, giving me many laughs. The story is brisk, funny and compactly set entirely at the club location.
When playing I made a series of bad choices by not focusing on any particular skills and ended up with quite evenly spread dice stats. That made for tense rolls in the late game, where nothing felt powerful enough and was even more reliant on chance.
Despite this I still made it to one of the eleven endings on my first play through, possibly due to meticulous studying of the opponents dice, rewards, and which order to face them. I think I got a good ending (#9) although it was a little anti-climactic. However, the prior dice battle with Big Mo felt tough. I thought I’d screwed it up beyond the point of salvage and yet managed to struggle through.
There’s plenty of opportunity for replays on different settings, taking alternate routes, and finding new events. Betrayal at Club Low embraces the feeling of heading out into crazy city nights and flying by the seat of your pants. It’s bold, carefree entertainment and well worth your time.
mishmash 